Stage-noise cabinet.



J. C. S..ROUSSELOT. STAGE NOISE CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED APR.18, 190s.

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Fig.1.

J. G. S. ROUSSELOT.

STAGE NOISE CABINET. APPLICATION FILED APR. 1a, 1908.

928,070. Patented July 13, 1909.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Fig.5 A

1) 1 N i n i 11 I J] J a 1 i1 I *2 J K k S Q 1 A 4 m a 0 I 'R Q1 c. l 0 b YYITNE$$E$ ENTOR ATTORNEYS J. G. S. ROUSSELOT.

STAGE NOISE GABINET.

APPLICATION FILED APR-.18, 1908.

928,070, Patented July 13, 1909.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

A ORNEYS J. G. S. ROUSSELOT.

STAGE NOISE CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1a, 1908.

Patented July 13, 1909.

INYE

S ewuf WM ATTORNEYS J. C. S. ROUSSELOT.

STAGE NOISE CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1a, 1900.

928,070. Patented July '13, 1909.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

WITNESS s ATT RNEYS J. G. S. ROUSSELOT.

STAGE NOISE CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1a, 1908.

928,070. 7 Patented July 13,1909.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

"nun-annu- 4 u do ununnaiwiak u 1 n I I I I Fignli IYlTN ESS ES INVE TOR ATTORNE YS JEAN CHARLES SCIPlON ROUSSELOT, PARIS, FRANCE.

s'rAGE noIsE CABINET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 13, 1909.

Application filed April 18, 1908. I Serial No. 427,911.

which invention the following is a full,

clear, and exact deseriptiom'and for which i have applied for Lctterslatent in F'ance, dated April 1S), 1907, No. 376,926.

It. is known that in theaters, spectacles and the like. and more especially in those in which kinematographs are worked, properties are employed and operatedin the wings, toproduce divers nolses and sounds corre-' sponding to the scenes'represented, in such 'a way as to give them more life and verisimilitude. Thus, in scenes where a storm is represented at the same time there nmst be heard the noise of the falling rain and the thunder; for military scenes, fusillades and the sound'of the cannon are required; for

ti1"es,.the warning of the horn announcing the passage of the firemen, and soon. To.

obtain these noises, it is necessary to station often as many as ten men or operators especially charged with this work. Another disadvantage is due to the scattering of the different apparatus in different parts of the wings; lastly it happens frequently that the sounds are produced too late or too early.

This invention has for object on the one hand the creation of new sounds and their control and on the other hand the con I tralization of all the devices in a single cabinet of handy and compact construction, allowing not only of having all the arrangements at hand but likewise of reducing to the minimum the number of operators employed; moreover, the presence of certain devices such as a sounding board and diaphragm allows of harmonizing and increasing the noises and sounds of the other ar rangements as is hereafter described with reference to the annexed drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front elcvation, partly in section, the doors of the cabinet. being removed. Fig. 2 is a. view in, horizontal section upon line ).2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows a portion .of a vertical cross section upon line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 shows a detail of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a front'view partly in sectionof a modified construction; Fig. ,6 is across section upon line 6-6, of Fig. 5; Fi 7 is a vertical section of a valve chamber cl rawn' to a larger scale; Figs. 8

and 9 are elevations of details; and FigrlO is a diagrammatic View of a controlling system for the different noise mechanisms. Fig. 11 is a, similar View of this controlling system arranged to automatically operate the cabinet synchronously with a kinematograph apparatus. I v

The cabinet proper A- is formed by a case, furnished in front with doors or not, the bottom or back wall presenting holes a (F ig'. 3). y

B is a sounding plate fixed at its upper. extremity. at 1) (Figs. 2 and 3) and provided at its lower portion with a lever handle 1) allowing of setting it in Vibration, w1th a' view to producing the sound of thunder 1n particular.

G C are horns, for instanceof automobiles, with rubber bulb c operated by the puroted lever-handle e which allows of pressing the bulbs (1 against the boards 1:, to make the said horns sound.' 7

D represents a rotary cylinder, at a mumber of arms, d the axis of rot-ationand d turning the cylinder D and the arms d, by means of the spindle cl", there are produced the sounds of broken crockery.

E is a bell, hung at c with a controll ng lever-handle 6' (Fig. 1) and F a gong operated by rotation or pressure at f.

.At G is shown a cylinder with pins g, r'ev-olved by the shaft 9; the pins g in turning lift in'succession the Wooden laths g fixedat g and falling again with force upon a wooden plank g imitating the sound of a fusillade, in case of rapid rotation of the shaft 9;. I

:The sounds of an anvil are produced by a hammer H pivoted at h returned by the spring 72, and set in motion by the shaft 71. and arms h; the hammer falls again upon the metal plate h (Fig. 1).

Iand J are brushes mounted respectively upon the shafts z'Qand j. The brush 1, with metallic or hard bristles, of which the pieces of' cast iron, earthenware, etc; by

shaft 1" carries] projecting pieces 2', plays upon a drum-skin K stretched at. hand produees asound of jets of steam, imitating a locomotive for instance. The pro]ect1ng pieces 71, in turning, lift the extremities Z of the rods L fixed at Z"; these extremities Z are furnished with a knob with felt, leather, etc. ,head 1 falling again, after the passage of the rojections 2', upon the drum skm K. A shaft m, analogous to the shaft.z",'carr1es,

projecting pieces m intended to lift successively' the other ends Z of the rods L, and to let them fall again with a crash upon a wooden plank M, fixed only at m so as to obtain for example the sounds of wood viplently broken. For its part the brush J rubs on a sheet N stretched in a frame N pivoted atm and furnished with a lever handle 12.. By pressing more or less the sheet N upon v the brush J by means of the lever-handle 72., not only the altitude of, the sounds but these sounds themselves are varied.

A pneumatic hammer O, pivoted at 0" is pressed against the drum-skin K by the spring 0 and pulled back by the spring 0 it is integral with an arm P operated by the rotating arms 1) of ashaft p.

Q is a rotary cylinder, mounted on the shaft {and carrying in its periphery flexible metallic plates g, intended to strike with violence upon a marble R supported by a piece of wood R. The shaft 9' carries crank arms 9 provided with a hammer g of which the fall upon a metal or other. piece Q, can imitate the step of a horse for example. On a shaft 8, forming the extension or not of the shaft 9, is fixed a number of arms S turning within a spring plate S of elliptical shape for example, provided with little bells 8; this spring plate is supported at .sand upon its small diameter it is distended by the arms S which, in turning, thus sound the bells 8. Lastly the sounds of sawing can be obtained by means of a cord or cable T, fixed to a. spring at t and furnished with a lever-handle t allowing'of making the cord or cable T rub upon pieces of wood or metal 27. Y

It is evident that there may be arranged in the cabinet, in addition to the arrangem'ents described,vany others known, such as a locomotive whistle, a trainconductors bugle, a siren, a birds song, a door-be'lh'ete;

when the cabinet comprises doors, these last may be utilized to imitate the sound of a room or "house door which,is opened or closed. I M

It is easily understood that in actuating one or other of the applian'cesindicatcd, other than those comprising the sheet B and the drum-skin K, these last resound although notoperated and harmonize and strengthen the different sounds produced by the said appliances.

The various noise mechanisms can either be operated directly by hand or-they may be operated from a .single driving shaft through suitable connections. The control can similarly be electric and in this case it suflices to add to the cabinet stops placed in the orchestro In the last case there is this- "advantage that the operator seeing the successive development of the scenes can produce the sounds exactly at the desired momentQ But it is preferable to control the for example the wind-chest springs V.

' cabinet as is described with reference to Figs.

5 to 11. Referring to the last mentioned figures, at the bottom of the cabinet A is arranged a bellows U in which is stored air under pressure, furnished by a suitable pump .(not shown) and delivered by a pipe at placed at its base. Above this bellows U is placed a chamber Vfixed to .the frame .A; between this latter, called a wind-carrier, and the bellows U are arranged suitable springs, This chamber V, or wind' -carrier, which receives compressed air from the bellows U by the lows a or stage-noise controlling device and air on the one hand directly to the little bellows u or stage-noise controlling device and on the other hand to a chamber W by means of a pipe '11]. The chamber W or valve-chamber, fixed outside the frame A, carries valves V each of which is connectedto a flap w closing a corresponding opening formed in the upper .wall of the chamber W. These openings are each connected by a pipe to to one of the controlling-devices u of the stagenoises. At rest the difierent flaps to close hermetically the chamber W and prevent the compressed air or wind from operating the bellows u; The controlling-devices or bellows u are of different kinds, according to the stage-noises to which they are connected. If the stage-noises require a certain force to work them, their flaps are controlled both by the chamber V and the chamber W;

in the contrary case, the flaps u may be operated simply by-the wind from the chamber XV. Qtherwise these bellows u, their control and arrangement are well known and there is no need to describe them here in more detail. with the corresponding bellows a by an opening 2; formed half in the upper wall of V and half in the lower wall of a chamber D (Fig. 6) integral with the bellows u and in relation with this last by an opening a capable of being closed by a valve if. It is easy to understand that by lowering one or more valves the compressed air may be sent into the corresponding bellows a which thus operate the stage-noises to which they are connected. Thus, 9 g designate two pivotinglevers, connected to their re- The chamber V communicates spective bellows a and each carrying at the free end a'cast iron bell 9 upon operating two valves W of the said bellows u, the bolls Q3, strike upon a marble slab Q, fixed to the frame A. This arrangement is intended to imitate the step of a horse, in different manner according to the more or less rapid I movement imparted to the two levers g by the two corresponding valves W.' X is a piece of wood in the form of a lever bent at a very obtuse angle, which is connected to its bellows u by a lever xand which is intended to imitate the rolling of a carriage, by, alternately knocking its limbs upon a cross piece of the frame A H H are hammers connected to their controlling device u.

and intended to strike alternately upon a metal plate la. in order to emit the sounds of the anvil; J J are parts similar to the hammers H and strike upon a marble plate to imitate the sound of stone cutters and the like. K represents a large chest suitably hung with mallet la and used alone or ,in combination with adrum skin stretched between the uprights of the frame A for examplc to replace or to complete the effects of the drum-skin K previouslydescribed. K is a drum; K a tambourine operated by the striker k and Y the .well known hydraulic whistle imitating the songs of birds.

The cabinet may be furnished with several sounding plates freely suspended'or fixed to the frame. On' the drawings a special method has been shown of fixing the plate B serving not only for the production of thunder, running of a railroad train, etc., but

likewise for the harmonizing, strengthening,

' etc, of the sounds given-by the other stagenoises. The plate B, supported at b, is

double (Fig. 6) and provided at any suitable points with adjustable dampers B-u; a

mallet Z) with vibrating bellows u (tremolo) allows of producing the rumbling of thunder, while a mallet B with ordinary bellows gives the thunder-claps (Fig. 6).

Figs. 8 and 9show a special arrangement for the discharges of fire-arms. obtained by the repeated blows of a wooden plate Z pivoted at Z and operated by the bellows u,against the folded upper part of the plate B. The plate B comprises in addition a special contrivance intended to produce the sounds ofhail and rain; this is composed essentially of metallic Wires 2 fixed in the form of a comb upon a convex back Z which a spindle 2 allows of being oscillated in one direction or the other. The wires 2 maybe provided at their freeiends With'a point at right angles, a ball, etc. Fig. 8 also represents a modification in the' mounting of the rotary cylinder D .filled with pieces of.

-npo11 the spindle (1 and thus revolves the drum at will. The working of the cabinet described is of the simplest: As soon as the pump has inflated the storage bellows U sufficiently, it '-suflices' to bring into action such or such valve ll" to obtain the sound intended. Of

These are course these soundsinstead of being single may be composite and obtained in the latter case by the action of two or more valves. For this purpose, to facilitate the operation, the arrangement of the valves forms an actual. keyboard within reach of the operatolz Fig. 10 is the diagram of a system of control based upon the application of a perforated band. The right of this figure represents a kinematograph film and its driving gear and upon the left of the same figure has been indicated the perforated band. As shown the shaft 1 of the wheel or wheels 2 driving the photographic band or film carries atlts extended extremity a small pnnon 4, 1n mesh with a spur wheel '5 mounted at the end of a roller (3 to which it transmits a slow movement of,rot'ation, the ratio of transmiss onbeing chosen at will. This roller 6 suitably mounted in a frame '7, 1s constructed-of insulating material and carries at its extremities two driving wheels .8 similar to the wheels 2 which drive the film 3. These wheels 8 are intended for the driving of ,a perforated band 9 of which the holes 10 correspond to the different noises of the cabinet A. For

this purpose, the roller 6 comprises equ1-' distant grooves 11 in each of which is mounted ametal piece 1). subjected to the action of a spring in suclr a way that the pieces 12 can penetrate into the holes 10 each time that the latter come before them and make electrical contact with i a metallic roller 14 of the. same length as the roller 6 and placed immediately above. The number of grooves 11 and therefore of the pieces 12 is equal to the number of stage-noises and each piece 12 is connected by a specific wire to an electromagnet 15 likewise connected electrically to the roller 14. These electromagnets are placed in relation to the corresponding valves 1 armature 16 (Fig. 7 It follows that each time that a piece 12 enters a hole .10, the

circuit is completed upon the roller 14 and the armature 16 isattracted, drawing with it the corresponding valve V which drops and actuates the noise producing mechanism just as ifthe valve were lowered'by hand. Preferably .the different conducting wires of 'the pieces 12 are inclosed in a cable 13 passing into the hollow shaft of the roller 6. It is obvious that this is only anideal arrangement, capable of. receiving ifipracticc any modifications not altering its spirit. Thus the armatures 16 instead ofbeing in.- tegral with the .valves W, can be engaged in a vertical slot cut in the valve-rods and and furnished with an caused .to press upon the bottom of these slots so as to allow equally the operation of the keyboard by hand. By choosing a suitable gear-ratio for the wheels 4 and '5, the length of the perforated-band 9 can be r'ednced for example to the tenth of that of thefilm 3. Lastly the arrangement of the perforated band 9 just beside the film 3 allows in case of breakage of the film ofi elfecting an accurate reduction of the length of the perforated band proportionate to that of the film which the operator at once repairs as is well known. Likewise a clutch may be provided to allow of releasing the driving of the perforated band and of advancing the latter by the desired length corresponding to the unused length of the film; it is convenient in this case to provide the perforated band with marks corresponding to marks upon the films.

In Fig. '10, the perforated band 9 passes over a guideroller 17, then behind the roller 6; it is shown cut at its upper part so as to exhibit the grooves 11 andthe pieces 12.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as such and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A device for producing stage noises, comprising a portable casing, a plurality of different stage sound producing devices arranged within the same and each device havmg -means exterior to said casing to control the operation of said device.

- 2. A device for producing stage-noises, comprising a'portable casing, a plurality of different stage sound producing devices arranged within the same and adapted to be pneumatically operated, and each devlce having means exterior to said casing to ranged within the same and means exteriorto saidcasing to control the operation of said devices synchronously with a picture displaying apparatus.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JEAN CHARLES SCIPION ROUSSELO'I.

l/Vitnesses BENJAMIN BLooHE, DEAN B. MAsON. 

